Phetchaburi red-shirt leader surrenders
A red-shirt leader from Phetchaburi surrendered to Dusit police station on Thursday to acknowledge a charge that she had intimidated a Channel 7 reporter.
Porntip Paksanon, 53, the chairwoman of Phetchaburi Red Shirts Group, turned up at the police station at 10am.
Police charged her with sending an email to intimidate Somjit Nawakruasunthorn, a Channel 7 reporter.
Pornthip denied the charge, saying she had no intention to intimidate Somjit.
She said she had no prejudice against the media and she did not send the email to the reporter. She said the email was forwarded to the reporter by a third party.
Porntip reportedly sent an email to her red-shirt friends, saying that the reporter should be "taken care of at first encounter" for having posted aggressive questions to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. It was reported that Yingluck had to walk away after cornered by Somjit's questions.
Porntip said she is ready to defend herself and she hopes police would handle the case straightforwardly.
Pol Lt Col Pittinun Utthasing, deputy commander of Dusit police station, said the case was a trivial one with a maximum fine of Bt1,000 and/or a maximum jail term of one month.
Pittnun said the case was not a violation of the computer crime act.
He said Porntip was allowed to return home after police had interrogated her and no arrest has been made. About 50 red-shirt people gathered at the police station to provide moral support for the leader.
